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Above: We found a lovely corner in Praia Da Luz to paint the white houses, climbers, roof tops and the distant sea but after an hour it got too hot for some
Above: The group sheltering from the sun at Praia Da Luz
Above: The group sunning themselves on the beach. They were hard at it painting though
Left: This guest turned to drink for assistance, he used the beer barrels and crates as an easel, at least that’s what he said!
We took the group sightseeing on the day off which everyone enjoyed.
We were able to eat outside most evenings as it was still warm. In fact the soppy dog from next door joined us one evening for a stroke and a cuddle.
The holiday started as a scorcher and continued that way until the last day when under normal circumstances would have been considered a good day! So where else to go when the sun is shining? The Coast. We spent our first day at Lynmouth and it was glorious with the pub right by the beach, what could be better.
We had the company of Lady a beautiful dog who would go off for walks each day with his Master and you could hear him coming down the hill side ready for lunch….the owner not the dog!
We had a lovely time at Malmsmead, Lorna Doone Valley. What a beautiful peaceful setting. There were horses going across the Ford, dogs going in it and…well there’s nothing like a delivery man in a hurry to ruin the peace and tranquility…not to mention the view…but only for a second or two!
Our first 2 holidays went off well in Portugal. We had good weather, except for a couple of days wind and the occasional shower but the sun shone for the vast majority of the holiday. We painted around the Quinta as there is so much to paint. Everyone thought it was absolutely wonderful and many want to return next year. ….
On Joe’s course this year we were in the Wye Valley at the Bells Hotel. The studio is one of the biggest we use, which gave Joe plenty of room to spread out all his paintings, and is very light and airy. We split the course into part location and part studio so that some sketching and painting was done outside as well as lots of studio work. You can see……
Our first holiday at Simonsbath was very much a full house with David Bellamy & Jenny Keal. Both Matt & Gill went on this holiday as Matt had a minor knee operation which meant he was unable to drive or carry anything heavy, so Gill had to drive and do all the carrying whilst Matt directed proceedings...which pleased Gill no end! We had….
The first day on Steve Hall’s holiday in the Wye Valley started with really good weather and we went to St Briavel’s. As you can see he is demonstrating to the group at the start of the day. The village has pretty………
On this holiday we had a small group of 8 people which ranged from a couple of ladies who had never been on a painting holiday to someone who had been going on them for 20 years. The weather was hot and sunny, except for lunchtime on the last day and everyone had a wonderful time……
This was another holiday full of sunshine. We had a good number and one guest on this holiday was also booked on the Steve Hall holiday that followed this one. On the first day one guest realised he’d forgotten all his paints…just as well we………..
Steve was joined on this holiday by his wife Pat. Pat enjoyed herself with one of the painters non-
On this holiday we had a small group of 8 people and the weather was good all week. We also had a lady who won the SAA prize for a free holiday with us and she was very nervous about painting outside with a group but as you can see from her journal she had nothing to worry about plus…..
The holiday started as a scorcher and continued that way until the last day when under normal circumstances would have been considered a good day! So where else to go when the sun is shining? The Coast. We spent our first day at Lynmouth and it was glorious with the pub right by the beach, what could be better……
The weather was hot for most of the time in October, although there was some rain but not a lot. Even when it rained we were able to work comfortable outside but under cover. We painted around the Quinta as there is so much to paint. Everyone thought it was absolutely wonderful……
Holiday Blogs 2014
In here you will find a selection of Holidays where we have produced Holiday Blogs for 2014. You will see details of holiday destination reccy’s, holiday winners and exhibitions that we have attended. The information is in summary form below or you can click on the summary to see more details and images of holidays you’ve been on.
Holiday Blogs 2014 - Full Details
Our first holiday at Simonsbath was very much a full house with David Bellamy & Jenny Keal. Both Matt & Gill went on this holiday as Matt had a minor knee operation which meant he was unable to drive or carry anything heavy, so Gill had to drive and do all the carrying whilst Matt directed proceedings...which pleased Gill no end!
The reason they both went was because there was 18 painters across 2 courses and numerous non painters who took the opportunity to go walking, fly fishing and bird watching. In fact we ended up with a lovely Rainbow Trout fresh from the rivers on Exmoor and thanks go to one of our guests for that. In fact we had 29 people for dinner on the first night including David & Jenny, Matt & Gill and all the non-
The weather was very changeable on Saturday to say the least. The group had to dodge the showers on the first morning and some weren't so lucky in dodging them but all managed to get some sketches. As you can see one hardy sole was happy to embrace the water and stand in it for the sake of a good composition but Gill still managed to take their lunch order.
After lunch there was nothing but blue skies so we decided to continue painting but we no sooner got out and it started raining, so we decided to go back to the studios and David demonstrated to his group.
On Sunday, we stayed in the studios and Jenny did a demonstration to her group in the morning.
David's group turned some of the sketches into full blown paintings as well as watching David complete a demonstration of a sketch he did the day before in Winsford.
As you can see others painted the beautiful Barle Valley from the hotel…what a view!
Despite the poor weather forecast the weather was beautiful on Monday when we went to Lynmouth. We were based at Rock House Hotel and this worked out very well as it is a perfect base for painting in Lynmouth. Some people painted boats, others painted the cottages, whilst others painted the harbour and along the coast. At the end of the day the majority of the group drove up to Watersmeet and did some sketches of the rocks, trees and the cascading river.
On the last day both groups stayed in the studio and had an enjoyable time in the studio and around about the hotel. Some guests painted the Barle Valley from the hotel and others went into the Barle valley to paint the hotel and surrounding trees and moorland, which is so handy with the countryside being so accessible from the hotel.
The hotel, whilst a little surprised that our first two holidays with them had overfilled their hotel, they welcomed everybody and worked very hard to make everyone’s stay as enjoyable as possible and everyone had a great time.
Our first 2 holidays went off well in Portugal. We had good weather, except for a couple of days wind and the occasional shower but the sun shone for the vast majority of the holiday. We painted around the Quinta as there is so much to paint. Everyone thought it was absolutely wonderful and many want to return next year.
What a studio even the peacock seemed keen on painting...or did he just want to pose, this is him coming out of the studio.
We also painted at Alvor, which was really lovely with the boats, the view of the estuary and hills and the mountains of Monchique in the distance. When we were at Alvor we attracted the attention of passers by who admired people's paintings.
It was a bit windy one day at Lagos Marina, which has beautiful views of the old town, so we went around the corner and sat amongst the sand dunes of Meia Praia and painted the beach and the marina entrance, boats, cliffs and the old fort of batata.
We also visited Praia Da Luz and painted the fort, the church, typical Portuguese buildings and the coast. One of our party painted the ice cream factory which is not your typical ice cream factory as you can see with it’s blue shutters and the lady who worked in there added it to their facebook page as she liked the painting so much.
In all these places the bars/cafes looked after us very well including the fish restaurant opposite the fish market in Alvor, the beach side cafe at Meia Praia and the Old fort at Praia Da Luz. The service was excellent and the food was delightful with some amazing fish dishes.
On the day off we took everyone to the Town of Lagos for shopping for the women but we had to call it sightseeing for the men, which of course it was. We then visited Vivenda Miranda for a lovely lunch on the terrace with break taking sea views. We had a walk around the grounds and gardens whilst there and after dinner we went to Ponta Da Piedade and saw the Algarve Stacks and Archways and had afternoon drinks on the beach front cafe at Porto De Mos and as you can see Gill and a couple of guests went for a paddle in the sea.
On this holiday we had a small group of 8 people which ranged from a couple of ladies who had never been on a painting holiday to someone who had been going on them for 20 years. The weather was hot and sunny, except for lunchtime on the last day and everyone had a wonderful time.
In fact the lady who won the holiday had never been on a painting holiday before had such a good time and wrote such a comprehensive journal there is nothing more than I can add to it, other than some pictures. See her comments about the holiday.
Above: Terry giving the holiday winner and a few other guests some tips on painting boats at Lynmouth.
Above: Terry giving the holiday winner some one-
Right: Terry demonstrating to the group on the first morning at Lynmouth. Here he is painting a view of Countisbury Hill.
Left: Here you can see the group mostly in the shade at Watersmeet and Gill is organising the drinks for everyone.
Left: Fiona doing a demonstration before dinner one evening.
Right: Some horses and their riders kindly posed so we could take some photos of them at Malmsmead, Lorna Doone Valley.
Right: Terry demonstrating to the group at Malmsmead, Lorna Doone Valley.
On Joe’s course this year we were in the Wye Valley at the Bells Hotel. The studio is one of the biggest we use, which gave Joe plenty of room to spread out all his paintings, and is very light and airy. We split the course into part location and part studio so that some sketching and painting was done outside as well as lots of studio work. You can see the group painting at Symonds Yat close to the River Wye. We did some sketching and painting for part of the day and then returned to the studio.
Even Reba was paying attention to the view this time but still no paint brush!
Reba still didn’t seem impressed with Joe!
We had one extra guest, Reba, the lovely guide dog who brought along her owner for the painting. Reba wasn’t that interested in Joe’s brilliant teaching and painting techniques but preferred to catch some zzzz’s in the studio whilst all the hard stuff was going on.
Another half day was spent at Cannop Ponds where we could paint the pond with reeds and reflections. Reba enjoyed this trip too as she had great fun running around before settling down for the rest of the guests to get on with their paintings.
Joe worked really hard as usual, teaching all his tips and techniques to make painting water seem so easy. Everyone enjoyed the holiday and went away with some great paintings. You can some of the guests with their paintings.
The first day on Steve Hall’s holiday in the Wye Valley started with really good weather and we went to St Briavel’s. As you can see he is demonstrating to the group at the start of the day (left). The village has pretty cottages, a church and a castle so there was plenty for people to paint.
Day two we went to Ross-
Unfortunately we could not get to Raglan Castle or Tinten Old Station because of the weather but we managed to do a lot in the large light studio in the Bells Hotel. Steve did demos and got the guests doing exercises (painting that is!) to help them paint what you see not what you think you see.
Then we went to Symonds Yat. As you can see here on the right Steve is demonstrating from the waterfront which people painted after. Some painted the river from the beer garden…I wonder why!
Steve was joined on this holiday by his wife Pat. Pat enjoyed herself with one of the painters non-
The first day the group walked around the corner from the hotel to the green outside the Bishops Palace. Steve started the day with a quick demo and then everyone got on with their own painting. The weather was nice and sunny which enabled us to stay and paint.
The next day we all set off to Nunney and it started spitting. By the time we got there the heavens just opened. I had a quick word with the pub and they let us have a room at the back where Steve did a demo waiting for the rain to clear, which it finally did and we were able to get out around the village. Nunney is a pretty little village with a castle and moat, lots of cottages and a church. Everyone dotted themselves about which is always a good idea to help the tutor keep fit!
We went into Bishops Palace to paint on the next day. Here you are spoilt for choice as the gardens are beautiful, there is lots of architecture and wildlife. The weather stayed fine so we were able to stay all day in the sunshine.
On the last day we only had to walk out the front of the hotel onto the cathedral green into the lovely sunshine. Steve did a demo of the cathedral before everyone selected their subject.
A good holiday had by all!
Now if you think that people are hard at painting all the time on a painting holiday, think again! I think they were trying to remember their youth, having a go on the swings.
Another lovely day at Winsford and the last day was spent painting the Barle Valley from the hotel. Everyone had a good time. I know I did and I’m supposed to be working…well that’s what I try to tell people but with holidays like this the lines between work and holiday get a bit blurred.
The weather was hot for most of the time in October, although there was some rain but not a lot. Even when it rained we were able to work comfortably outside but under cover. We painted around the Quinta as there is so much to paint. Everyone thought it was absolutely wonderful.
We went to Alvor on our first day out and painted a street scene and there was an amazing spectacle of hundreds, if not thousands of seagulls fighting over the scraps from the fisherman’s catch.
Above: The group were watching a demonstration and some children staying at the hotel watched too!
Left: A policeman started taking an interest in what we were doing. Fortunately, he didn’t ask us to move on but we couldn’t get him to join in either!
On this holiday we had a small group of 8 people and the weather was good all week.
We also had a lady who won the SAA prize for a free holiday with us and she was very nervous about painting outside with a group but as you can see from her journal she had nothing to worry about plus there is nothing more than I can add to it, other than some pictures. See her comments about the holiday.
Above: Noel giving some tips to a guest at St Briavel’s
Above: The holiday winner receiving some tuition from Noel.
Left: Some of the group painting at Symonds Yat
Left & Right: Noel with two guests at Lindors Country House Hotel which he and everyone absolutely loved.
Above: Is this Noel’s idea of Acrylic Flow Improver!
This was another holiday full of sunshine. We had a good number and one guest on this holiday was also booked on the Steve Hall holiday that followed this one.
On the first day one guest realised he’d forgotten all his paints…just as well we carry a stock of art materials if people run out or forget.
The day we went to Cheddar it was hot and some workmen were painting a white cottage that our guests wanted to paint (not in the same way as the workmen). We kept them topped up with drinks and ice creams so they didn’t get in our way and with it being hot one of them only had shorts on and I think this put one of our ladies off her painting but we didn’t hear any complaints from her.
We also saw a water vole on the very path where we were painting. He posed for a short while and then scurried off
As usual Jeremy did a lesson on colour mixing which is always very good and very well received. It was even more appreciated when we went to Kilver Court Gardens with all the greens of the foliage and the reflections. See Jeremy’s demo on the right
We also painted around Wells and went into the Bishop’s Palace which has so much choice to paint.
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